Iām not saying theyād have beaten them by that much just saying he can still perform to a high level with good players around him. No doubt he isnāt the force of old but there receivers are crap. If gronk played Saturday theyād have won. Nobody could make a play for them.
Even taking Brady out of it, it is an aging team with a number of key players either a couple of years over the hill or hitting free agency this summer. I doubt that Bellicheck will look to go all out in free agency or give up early picks to retool this team for one more run.
Given how much he loves coaching and the process Iād say he isnāt overly concerned about tearing the whole thing down and starting again to rebuild a team over the next 2 to 3 years without McDaniels, Casiero, Brady, Van Noy, Collins, McCourty and the core special teams group which are all well past 30.
If anything, it will be Kraft and Brady who will want to give it one or two more years
another good thing about the pats loss is that my beloved bills keep their most SB appearances in a row record.
Heāll be 68 in April. I doubt heās going to settle in for a rebuilding job. Iād say heād grab one more.
Thereās surely an ESPN 30/30 doc about them 4 finals is there. They must have been sick.
The four falls of Buffalo - one of the better 30 for 30s
2 Likes
sick after the first one, got destroyed in the other 3 finals. the wide right final is the lowest losing margin in SB history
thereās an excellent āAmericaās Gameā about it
It also depends on how much Belicheck wants to go on too. He might only be bothered for one more year, so might try one last throw at it. But would generally agree, heād have no issue pulling it apart and start again, but I just dont see it. I dont think heād be there to finish it out regardless. I think the team could end up faltering away back to mediocrity with so many older/out of contract players. I dont think Brady, Belicheck nor Bob Kraft want to be around for that and I expect big changes and shake up there over the next season. Krafts son Jonathon is the main man behind the scenes now anyway and it seems Bob is more the face/media relations of the franchise.
anyway, Patriots are out, plenty of good teams and new stories left for the rest of the playoffs.
1 Like
The age of some key Patriots : Julian Edelman 33, Devin McCourty 32, Jason McCourty 32, Patrick Chung 32, Marcus Cannon 31, Mohamed Sanu 30, Stephon Gilmore 29, Dontaā Hightower 29, Kyle Van Noy 29, Lawrence Guy 29, Jamie Collins 29, John Simon 29, Rex Burkhead 29.
not great reading
1 Like
Hand-job Bob should be sent away as well
2 Likes
no happy ending this time for mr kraft
Mike McCarthy confirmed as the new HC in Dallas.
Very close to 4 road teams taking the W this weekend. Box office stuff
It was a filthy and deliberate hit.
Correct. Iām surprised there hasnāt been more made of it. Eagles would have won handy
1 Like
Sour grapesā¦
Chalk and cheese Miami outfits, in terms of personnel and attitude as @Blake alluded to. Rosen was still starting at QB then, while the departures of Minkah & Drake seemed to help galvanise the locker room. It also took Preston Williamsās injury to figure out Devante Parker catches everything.
1 Like